


A New Challenge

by Moonluster



Series: Transcendence [3]
Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Atem is actually adorable, Atem is so done with Seto’s shit, Dramatic Idiots, M/M, Prideshipping, Seto doesn’t realize it but he’s pretty damn gay in this piece, Seto is a stubborn ass, they’re both guilt-filled idiots tbh
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-28
Updated: 2020-04-28
Packaged: 2021-03-02 05:35:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,608
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23899840
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Moonluster/pseuds/Moonluster
Summary: Rating for language. What was supposed to be an ordinary challenge turned into a different kind. Atem is determined to win this one, and as usual, Seto is allowing his rival to push him, even if this kind of challenge isn’t to his liking.
Relationships: Atem/Kaiba Seto, Kaiba Seto/Yami Yuugi, Kaiba Seto/Yami Yuugi | Atem
Series: Transcendence [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1684291
Comments: 6
Kudos: 28





	A New Challenge

**Author's Note:**

> I love this piece and I enjoyed writing it so much. I hope you feel the same as you read it! If you haven’t read the other parts of this piece yet, I would encourage you to do so (but no pressure)! Relax, and enjoy it!  
> I have had to edit this piece so many times already it's ridiculous. Apologies to anyone who comes back to re-read it and is confused.

Much more prepared than I had been before if it were even possible, I was once again catapulting myself across the dimensions. 

_The goal is to last longer than an hour_ , I’d told myself. Now that I was fully aware of what the consequences of what staying too long could do, I would have to monitor myself closely during the visit. 

When I finally arrived in the Egyptian afterlife, Atem’s afterlife, more specifically, I found myself in the exact spot I’d left; the throne room. Observing my surroundings, I considered this progress. After all, the first time I’d spent most of my time walking to even arrive at the palace, which I assumed had nearly consumed the hour I’d spent here. 

_The device must be saving certain points I’ve entered and exited, like in a game...interesting._

More surprisingly, I noticed that Atem wasn’t in the room like he had been previously. _Of course, what did I expect? He can’t just sit on his ass all day._

Determined to find him, I searched for an entryway to the rest of the palace. There were two; one on each respective side of the throne, leading right and left. Expectedly, there were guards on each entrance. 

_Doubtful they would understand my language, or even the modern Arabic._

Frustration and determination blooming in my chest, I approached the guards, who, upon entering their line of sight, eyed me with suspicion, but didn’t brandish their spears at me. 

Instead of speaking my intentions, I raised one hand in the air, palm facing them while grabbing a projection device with my other. I located a picture of Atem--albeit in Yuugi’s form, since I didn’t have a current image--and presented it to them. They gazed at it for a moment, glanced at each other, spoke briefly, and stepped aside to let me through. Before I was able to pass, one joined my side, eyeing me. He spoke with a sense of authority in his language, made a gesture with one of his hands to himself, to me, and then down the hall. 

_An escort?_ I felt a corner of my lips tug and I nodded affirmatively at him. He didn’t return the gesture and began walking, ensuring I was still behind him every so often. _As if I would run or attack..._ I couldn’t fault him for his caution, he was simply doing his job, as any of my bodyguards would. 

Every hallway and entrance we passed, we had to stop--which was slightly annoying--because the guard needed to talk to another guard in that area. I supposed it was a means of figuring out where Atem was exactly, by communicating where these people had last seen him. 

At last, we came to what appeared to be a garden in an open-air courtyard, which was lavish with all sorts of trees, plants, and flowers that I had never seen before. The guard extended his hand in front of us toward the direction of the foyer and nodded definitely. I returned it and as I entered, he announced to seemingly no one. When I turned back to see if he had gone; he had. Yet, I was keenly aware that many more had eyes into this place, out-of-sight. I was all too familiar with the feeling of being watched, so this did not unnerve me. 

I didn’t have to go far before I found Atem, relaxing on what looked like an Egyptian version of a pool chair, beneath the shade of a large tree whose palms came annoyingly close to brushing my face. 

I stopped at a distance, maintaining a semblance of respect, recognizing that he was no longer just my fated rival, but a respected person in his position in his own right. 

I waited for a moment before getting his attention, “Atem?” 

“Hmm...” He started, seemingly content, and undisturbed by my appearance, he was slow to sit upright, and once he was, his garnet eyes immediately found me, which caused a shiver to run down my spine despite the humidity and heat of the area, “I heard the guard say that ‘the unnamed, blue-eyed man’ was here to ‘seek my presence’.” 

He grinned at me as he stood from his seat, his rather large and elaborate earrings jingling as he moved, and stilled when he was on his feet. 

I cleared my throat, though unsure of what to say. Then, a question struck me: “You didn’t tell them about me after my last visit?” 

_Surely they would’ve had questions_...after all, it isn’t every day someone like me, a foreigner, just shows up on their leader’s doorstep without throwing them out immediately.

“I did, a little,” he reassured me as he extended his arms upward in a stretch, sighing contentedly when he finished. 

Then, he looked back to me, “I only told them what they needed to know, and that was to let you through the palace if they see you again.”

“Hn. Well, they were cautious. I had to show them an image of you to gain entry.” A slight warmth brushed my cheeks, and while I knew what it was, I copped it up to the fact that it was warm outside.

“Why wouldn’t they be?” He had a twinkle in his eye as he changed the topic. “But I’m sure you’re not here to discuss ‘employees’, hm?” 

“Yes. I came to challenge you.” I replied, my heart starting to beat stronger and faster, as it always did when I initiated these fights.

A chuckle escaped him as he turned away from me slightly, extending a slender hand to brush his fingers against the fans of the green palms, with a playful smile on his tanned lips, “unfortunately, I’m not in the mood to play right now.”

I furrowed my brow and narrowed my eyes at him, “...not in the mood? Then I’ll just go.” 

_Since_ **_when_** _?_

He turned his attention back to me and smiled, “by the gods, Kaiba...don't you enjoy _anything else_ besides Duel Monsters? I’m not sending you away by saying I don’t wish to play...I’m inviting you to relax in this beautiful garden with me,” one of his arms raised with palm upward, and he gestured about him gracefully, “since your journey must’ve been tiring.” 

“...I don’t relax.” I answered, hearing my tone flatten. “I don’t have time to.” 

“Yes, you do. At this moment, you do.” He teased, which caused my teeth to grit in response. _How does he wriggle his way around my defenses like this? I hate it._

“Tch. Fine.” I found myself crossing my arms as his face lit up, “great! Then let me give you a tour.”

We started by circling the rather large and elaborate pond. Atem, full of energy and excitement, named every single plant and creature, all of which I didn’t care to remember, but maintained attention to him and his words. 

He knelt to touch one plant; a lily pad that had some sort of blooming blue-purple flower in the middle that was lingering near one of the edges of the water, and spoke earnestly about it, “this is the lotus. One of the most beautiful flowers _Kemet_ has to offer." 

He drew it out of the water in his palms, water dribbling from its base, running down the vine (root?) it was attached underneath the water’s surface, “it smells absolutely divine.” To punctuate his statement, he brought it up to his nose and inhaled it fully.   
  
  


"We became adept at making perfumes from it, and it was a luxury well-known to me and my family. Even now, I'm wearing its scent." 

“I see,” I replied, taking notice of its color; a deep, vibrant purplish-blue with many petals, and the way Atem seemed taken with it. I hadn't known flowers to have such an effect on others, least of all someone like him. 

Sighing after one last inhale, and placing it back into the water and standing up, he continued, "to us, the lotus means new life, rebirth. It's the belief that anyone can have another chance once another day, another sunrise, comes." 

This speech about this seemingly insignificant flower (at least to me) intrigued me. What did he mean in telling me all this? 

_I don't understand you sometimes. What are you trying to say?_

Atem was, at times, enigmatic and untouchable to me. It seemed that even I couldn't reach him at some points and he went beyond my comprehension. That wouldn't stop me from trying, though. 

"More importantly," he started, turning to me with hands behind his back and a smile on his face, "the stars and moon shine so brilliantly here. I couldn't see them very well when I lived in your world and Yuugi told me it was because of all the lights in the city." 

"It's due to the light and air pollution," I replied, "it tends to happen in places like Domino City." 

He hummed, "as much as the city's lights looked like stars, they still can't compare to the natural beauty of the galaxies. At least, in my opinion. I'm glad I got to see what the world looked like when you and my partner existed." 

Before I could speak, he added, "speaking of which, if you want, we should gaze upon the skies together. I want you to see what I saw when I lived in this time." 

_A strange but interesting idea. He has no clue that I've already seen the stars and planets from above the Earth, but I'll humor him._

“What time, exactly?” I inquired, disliking myself for sounding so interested. 

"When the sun has gone below the horizon, or, the eighth hour of the day, evening.” His face started to light up at my interest. 

_So...8, then._ I affirmed to myself, then remembered there was a significant time difference between Japan's time, and Egypt's time. 

“Wait, Atem.”

“Hm?” He titled his head, patient. 

“What time do you think it is right now?” 

He raised his head to the sky, then back down and made it a point to look closely at one of the nearby trees, then answered, “I don't have my shadow clock with me at this moment, but I would guess, based on the shadows of the plants in the area, it is the 10th hour of the day, morning.” 

I nodded, “understood. Good to know.” 

It was 5 in the evening before I departed. _That means, if the sun sets in Egypt at about 8, then I must be awake and ready to go by 3 in the morning._

It was a little earlier than I normally got up, but it wasn’t going to be too much of an issue. 

“I’m glad I could help with... _whatever_ you were thinking,” he remarked, a smile breaking across his face as he stepped past me and onward, his stride accentuated with a sort of...bounce, hands folded behind him and quietly humming.

I maintained my somewhat mindless stare at the way he was moving for a moment but snapped out of it when he turned to glance back at me. 

Realizing what I was doing, I shook my head and caught up with him. 

I don’t know how long it had been, but when we finally arrived at the other end, having completed our loop, I noticed that my body was only slightly more tired than during my first initial visit.

Had attempting to ‘relax’ actually helped me maintain my presence longer than before? Maybe there was something to it. Or perhaps Atem knew something I didn’t. 

_It wouldn’t be the first time..._

During that time, he gathered an assortment of fruits into his arms, some I recognized but didn’t know the names of, and some that were foreign to me.

“Come, I want to sit and eat. You can have some, too,” with the fruits in his possession, he seated himself at the edge of the pond, dipped his bare feet--which I had only just realized he hadn’t been wearing shoes--into the dark green water, and gently placed the fruits beside him. 

“I’m not taking my shoes off,” I informed him dryly, and he replied with a laugh, “do what you want, Kaiba. Just know that the water feels much cooler than boots,” he gestured with his eyes to my feet. 

I huffed, seating myself close to the edge at a respectful distance from him, the fruits now between us. 

I said nothing as he cracked open a large, dark pink-skinned fruit, whose juices fell all over him, staining his clothes, “well...that was expected,” he murmured aloud, then turned to me and offered the strange food to me.

“I’ll pass,” I replied, and he shrugged with a hum in response, digging into it with his other hand, and bringing the...seeds? To his mouth, trying not to get juice all over his face as he did so. 

_A rather messy eater..._ I noted with a bit of a surprise. Truthfully, I hadn’t expected to see him in such a state. He wasn’t his normal, regal self, and I wondered why he was doing this.

I tore my gaze from him and brought it to my surroundings, a sense of uneasiness and restlessness seeping into my body. However, I was determined to see this through. At least until Atem was satisfied, and then perhaps he would be in ‘the mood’ to meet my challenge. 

“So, how have you been? It’s been at least five suns since your last visit.” He inquired, continuing, “you took a good rest, I’m assuming?”

“At Mokuba’s demand, yes,” I admitted. _Suns? I suppose he wouldn’t have any other way to count the days..._

“Hm...that’s good.” 

There was a beat of silence between us before he continued, “you know, it just occurred to me that we don’t know that much about each other outside of our common interest in games.”

My lips twisted into a slight frown as I distracted myself by staring at a nearby lily pad, “what does it matter? Duelists know each other more intimately than any other person could ever hope to.” 

“I understand that, but...it’s also important to know the basics, too. It’s what builds a friendship.” He insisted, and I recoiled at the statement. 

“We aren’t friends,” I found myself growling, “we’re rivals; two people walking the road of battle alongside each other. There isn’t time for exchanging friendly pleasantries when you’re focused on improving.” 

“Kaiba, what’s this...thing about? ‘Not having time’?” He inquired, though his tone was more along the lines of interrogating.

I stiffened at the question and found my palms clenching into fists, desperately searching for an answer. Once I found it, I spoke immediately, “when you run an international company that demands every minute, every _second_ of your time...even when you aren’t conducting business, you get good at setting things aside. Relaxation and leisure? These are nothing more than a waste of valuable, precious time.” 

Atem retorted playfully yet seriously, “yet you’re here, having leisure.” 

“Yes, and I hate it,” I confessed.

He was quiet for a moment, and I chanced a glance at him; he had put the fruit down, his attention now on me completely, gaze full of intensity “...Hate being here? Or hate relaxing?”

_That_ pissed me off. What did he think he was doing, psychoanalyzing me? If there was anything I despised more, it was people trying to come up with conclusions about me, based on their assumptions, all of which were wrong. 

“It doesn’t matter!” I snapped, and stood, turning my gaze to look down on him, “besides, you have _all the time in the_ **_world_** , and _surely_ you can find a _better way to spend it_ **_other_ ** than trying to _make_ **_nice_ ** _with me!_ ” At that moment I realized my tongue had gotten away from me. 

_What the hell?_

He swiftly rose to stand, faster than I thought was possible and met my gaze with the same ferocity he displayed during our duels, but there was anger--a fire--in his eyes as he snapped back, “why are you so resistant to my attempts to make you realize that we can be _more_ than what you think? I have the _time_ , and I’m _spending_ it with **_you_** , because, _believe it or not_ , you matter _a lot_ to me, Kaiba!”

“Then why _the_ **_fuck_ ** did you leave without letting me know?! Some _‘friend’_ you are if you claim to be one!” 

“Look, I’m _sorry_ for that,” his face twisted into an expression I couldn’t place, though his shimmering, violet-red eyes never wavered, “I was so caught up in what I had to do that I didn’t give any thought to anything else, and obviously, it was wrong, seeing as I hurt one of the people who didn’t see me, not as Yuugi, but for _me_.” 

My breath caught in my throat, and I realized I was shaking. I did my best to steady myself, taking a moment to relax my breathing as I glanced away from him. I didn’t dare speak, lest my mouth got the best of me again. 

There was a seething silence between us before I saw him moving in the corner of my eye. He was sitting down again, further from me than before. I heard him mutter, “if you dislike it here so bad, and if you don’t want my friendship, then leave. I can’t make you stay where you don’t want to be.” 

“You can’t make me _leave_ , either,” I replied, still angry. 

“It wasn’t a demand. It was an offer of an out since you like to run away from what’s real, anyway.” 

“What the fuck.” I huffed, finding myself running a hand through my hair, “what kind of mind games are you playing with me?”

“I’m not. You’re the one taking everything as a challenge!” Atem exclaimed, his voice steely, yet resolved. 

“As if I can do anything else,” I confessed, and bitterness, like black coffee, stained my words. 

He said nothing in return. He seemed just as distressed as I was, though he was statue-like to hide it. 

_Not much unlike what I do,_ I realized. 

After a few moments, I found myself seated again, and, staring into the dark emerald green of the pond’s waters, I took a deep breath to collect myself. 

“...I don’t know what friendship looks like, Atem. People offer it, but usually under the guise of wanting something from you. A way to advance their position, agenda, _whatever_...”

“You’re thinking of those corporate types you deal with every day, Kaiba,” he replied coolly, still not looking at me. 

“Yes, and the word they use is ‘friendship’, or ‘partnership’, usually after describing it as ‘fruitful’. These are transactional. I view our battles the same way.”

“What?” That had gotten his attention, and he fixed me with a gaze that seemed to betray pain and disbelief. 

I swallowed my heart as I returned eye contact, “I know it’s hard for you to understand, but think about it; you give me what I need, and I do the same. Competition, excitement, pride, all of these, and more. It’s _transactional_.” 

He seemed at a loss, his mouth opening and closing again as his eyes tried to focus on something and nothing at once, until finally, his expression hardened, turning sour, “I feel... **_disgusted,_ ** hearing you say it like that. What I see is us _sharing_ our feelings, our desires, our needs and wants from one another. It’s not giving and taking, or _‘transactional_ ’, as you call it.”

“Sharing...is for _children_ ,” I replied tartly. 

“No, it isn’t!” He argued, “who the hell taught you that friendship, meaningful bonds, all of that, means being **_taken_** _from_?”

I didn’t dare answer that. I didn’t want him to continue psychoanalyzing me. 

“It’s none of your concern.” 

He sighed loudly, his voice audible within it, “fine, maybe it isn’t, but I will show you what I mean, in time.”

“Try it if you like, but I doubt it’ll work.” 

“I will.” 

There it was; a new challenge. This time, Atem’s focus and purpose were breaking whatever he saw as a barrier to ‘get to me’ or ‘make me’ see what he meant about ‘friendship’. 

Just as we finished our argument, I realized that I had tired considerably from the last time I had checked with myself, to the point that I would need to leave again. 

_I had better have been here longer than an hour or so help me..._

“I need to leave now, or I won’t be coming back,” I announced dryly and rose to my feet once again. 

“Ah, I see,” Atem started, standing with me. As he rose, he picked up one of the pink-skinned fruits, and offered it to me, “take this with you, and think about what I said.” 

I took it without hesitation, eyeing it and then him, “I don’t know why you’re giving me this, but whatever will make you feel better,” I responded coldly.

A small grin reached his lips as he nodded, still looking up at me, “good. When do you plan on visiting next?”

“...I don’t know, but make it so it’s easier for me to get here next time. Dealing with middlemen is annoying.”

“I’ll try,” he answered with finality. 

Before I pressed the switch to force me back into my dimension, I caught him waving at me, and, feeling a heat flush into my cheeks and ears, I swiftly exited that place. 

I’d shown enough vulnerability that day, and frankly, I was exhausted.

**Author's Note:**

> 10/09/2020:  
> I have had to change so much to this piece and I apologize for it.


End file.
